A
Special Message from Naomi Joy Porter
I
hope this finds you well! I'm writing to fill you in on some exciting
news in my life. As many of you know I have a heart for the world, and in Asia specifically. For years I have felt a
strong desire to teach in Asia, and a door of opportunity for me to teach in Asia
this next year has opened.
First
I will be traveling to Japan with Celebration Ministry of Arts July 7th- August
7th. This will be my fifth year performing in this nation. It
has been amazing in past years to see hearts touched and transformed by their first contact with
our performances and our stories and dances. We will also
be teaching children and leading purity workshops for young girls. Our team will
travel to five different cities in southern Japan. Our contacts in
Japan cover our in-country expenses (food, housing, etc.), but we still need to
raise $2,000 each to cover our airfare and other travel expenses. We are so thankful for
the opportunity to continue the ongoing relationships we've built with the
people of Japan! It is such a privilege to share our lives and stories with
these precious people. Every time I go, my heart breaks for
those who try to fill their lives with empty religion and materialism.
A Year of Teaching in China... at last!
As most of
you are aware, I have been to China three times and have a love for the people
there. After the CMA trip to Japan, I will be traveling
to Mangshi, which is in the Yunnan Province (southwestern China, near the border
of Burma). I will be working with some of the same people we worked with
in 2005 teaching English, and serving orphans.
Loving the Orphans
The
plight of orphans has tugged at my heart ever since I became aware of the
millions of Chinese girls who desperately need a home and family. Traveling to China twelve years ago to meet my
precious little sister Hannah is an experience I will never forget. I knew then
that part of my life's calling was to be spent loving these forgotten children. This
year I will be working with two orphan schools- teaching English and dance.
Precious People - waiting for special love
It seems amazing to me that there are still people-groups that have never known of the amazing Love I have found! Over half of the
tribal groups in China live in the
Yunnan Province (over 280 of the 400 recognized). I will be
working with several of these unreached people groups. Over 85% of the
De'ang people have never heard the message of Hope. Many of them are animistic or
Buddhist. I am overwhelmed that my Father would send me to be the courier of this love!
Teaching English
Teaching
children is one of my passions! I have been teaching 4th grade at a wonderful
school for the past six years and loving it. I consider it a great
privilege to be a part of mentoring young people to grow in excellence both academically and
otherwise. I will be able to use my teaching experience to teach some children
who have never even seen an American!
Some
of the schools where I will be teaching at are in the mountainous areas near the
border of Burma. I will also be offering seminars to help local teachers with
their English instruction. I am hoping for opportunities to share the special love in my heart with each person I come into contact with. The team I will be joining
also runs a mobile library of over 5,000 books that circulates through the
schools. (Being a bookworm myself, I'm excited to join this venture!)
Expressive, Instructional Dance
Amazingly,
doors have opened for me to use my heart for expressive dance in
China. When I traveled here in '05, my team was able to share through dance
and drama. There is more openness to the love of my Father as expressed through music
and dance than almost any other medium. There are 2 orphan schools that want me to teach
expressive dance classes. There are so many open doors before me! All I can do is be continually grateful!